THE Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld the judgment ordering the final forfeiture of assets linked to retired Major General Emmanuel Atewe to the Federal Government.
News Point Nigeria reports that the appellate court, in a unanimous judgment delivered virtually via Zoom on Wednesday, dismissed Atewe’s appeal challenging the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The appeal stemmed from a May 5, 2023 judgment by the Federal High Court, which granted an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the final forfeiture of several properties, cash and investment assets allegedly linked to proceeds of unlawful activities.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, the trial court held that Atewe had failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding the lawful sources of the assets after the anti-graft agency established reasonable grounds to suspect that they were acquired with illicit funds.
Justice Aneke had also dismissed the retired military officer’s argument that the forfeiture proceedings amounted to an abuse of court process because he was already facing a separate criminal trial involving similar transactions.
The assets forfeited include N3.97 million in cash; Plot MF62 along the Outer Northern Expressway, Abuja; Plot No. 1228 in Jahi, Abuja; Plots CP6386 and CP6387 at Sabon Lugbe East Extension Layout along Airport Road, Abuja; one-hectare parcels of land in Kuje District; a 50-hectare farmland at Gaube Farmland Extension II Layout in Kuje; a parcel of land at Commercial Layout, Yenagoa Gardens in Bayelsa State; 30,000 MTN shares managed by Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited; and Plot No. CP10, Sector Centre B Layout, Kuje, Abuja.
The EFCC had informed the trial court that investigations into the alleged diversion of more than N8.5 billion belonging to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) through the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, uncovered how the funds were allegedly routed through companies and proxies before being used to acquire the assets.
According to the commission, the properties were reasonably suspected to have been purchased with proceeds of unlawful activities.
Dissatisfied with the Federal High Court’s ruling, Atewe approached the Court of Appeal, urging it to overturn the forfeiture order.
However, the appellate panel, presided over by Justice Boloukuromo Ugo, resolved all three issues raised in the appeal in favour of the EFCC.
The court rejected Atewe’s contention that the civil forfeiture proceedings constituted an abuse of court process because criminal proceedings involving almost the same transactions were already pending against him.
The appellate court held that the forfeiture proceedings before the Federal High Court were directed solely at the assets in question and not at the person of the appellant.
It further ruled that Section 123 of the Armed Forces Act and the Supreme Court decision in General Jafaru Muhammed v. EFCC, which Atewe relied upon in his appeal, did not apply to his case.
According to the court, the circumstances surrounding Atewe’s case differed significantly from those in the Jafaru matter, noting that while Jafaru was a serving military officer at the time of his prosecution, Atewe had already retired from service.
The court also held that the retired general failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish that the assets were lawfully acquired.
It noted that Atewe’s explanations relied on unspecified honoraria and other claims without presenting adequate documentary evidence linking such payments to the acquisition of the properties and investments.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court and upheld the final forfeiture of the assets to the Federal Government.